news, radio, punk rock and politics

Okay, so the Masked Intruder song isn’t new, per se, but the video is. And it rocks. The song rocks for its catchiness and the fact that it’s basically the perfect template for a pop-punk song. This video rocks for its 8-bit grandeur and the fact that I want to play this non-existent game on SNES. Can we make this happen? Anyone? I’ll even settle for a Masked Intruder game on a Super Nintendo emulator.

And then our favorite DIY BTMI! bad boy Jeff Rosenstock has a new tune called “Go On Get” up (and available for download, of course) on Soundcloud. As with most of his songs, this feels like it’s going to take a few listens before it grows on me. Chances are in two weeks, I won’t be able to get it out of my head.

Beer and music have long been in cahoots, and the folks over at Beck’s are bringing the two back together in the most literal sense. With help from the New Zealand-based agency Shine, they’ve created the Edison Bottle, the world’s first playable bottle of beer.

Today, the ACLU has announced a lawsuit against the Obama administration over the attack of freedoms. Since the freakishly broad nature of the NSA snooping was revealed, it’s been a huge issue of contention. Lawmakers, the ones within the government who benefit from the information, are generally supporting it. According to a Pew poll, civilians, the ones who are being surveilled, are split. If the poll is accurate, Americans lean towards supporting the NSA, but I question what the reaction would be if they knew for a fact that they were the ones being surveilled. Some say surveillance like this is necessary for national security, and that civilians did not need to know PRISM is happening — a wonderfully cliche position that ignorance is bliss.

So I offer a song this week that makes light of a dark situation. A band of fellows who sing about crime in a way that makes committing ones sound like a punk show. Some Masked Intruder for you all, for the sweet irony of pop-punk licks and sad, sad subject matter that they provide. Also for the fact that I can make a pun off the lyric “love is a prison” in my head by turning it into “love is a PRISM.”

… And the research I did for the article, all the links I found and linked, I’m sure are now in the NSA’s database, too.

These two events are hardly the first moments of government secrecy, but they did come to light awfully close together. How can a government and police force exist for the people when they violate the very laws they’re supposed to be upholding?

We’re living in an state of being where we’re told more and more frequently it shouldn’t matter that we’re losing our civil liberties if we have nothing to hide. Meanwhile, we’re living under a law system that is becoming increasingly more secretive. I see a serious disconnect when people are seen as inherently guilty rather than innocent, while the powers that are supposed to protect justice engage in an ever-expanding blackout.

Try and tell me we’re not living in a world gone crazy. The Slackers know it, and they’re right.

Blogger’s note: I realize I used a Slackers song for the AP story, too. It’s coincidence, but it was so fitting to use one of their songs here, too, that I couldn’t not do it. RudieTuesdays for the win.

And pre-order their new album. Or just buy a t-shirt. But I mean why would you pass up the opportunity to own some more wonderfully poppy, turn-your-brain-into-flowers-and-puppies-and-goo, catchy-licious Lemuria tunes on vinyl.

Like this:

The local line up features Claire’s Diary, The Tablets, Tiny Tusks and Bad Behavior. The evening will combine live performances with short films by the artist Itziar Barrio between sets, which delve into feminist oriented concepts and Brooklyn’s cultural landscape.

Because Memorial Day weekend (and any weekend, really. Or weekday, for that matter) is a good weekend to celebrate some awesome women.